Science Vs. Crime

Relentless Sleuths Toil In Joliet Lab

February 28, 1993|By Lynne Kornecki.

On a sunny day, the mammoth pock-marked turrets of the Joliet Correctional Center cast long spiky shadows that touch the low-rise, smoothly modern building nearby. Although the two structures have nothing in common architecturally, the purpose of both structures is steeped in crime.

The massive correctional center houses criminals, and it is the work of the forensic staff in the small building next door that may have put many of them there.

Devoid of identification, except for a prominently displayed address, the building gives passersby no clue that this is the home of the Illinois State Police-Joliet Forensic Laboratory. And lab director Judie Welch likes it that way.

"There's no sign in front," explained Welch, "because we don't want to advertise who we are and what we're doing."

Last year, this laboratory and its 30 forensic scientists examined evidence from 6,700 criminal cases submitted by more than 400 agencies from around the state. These agencies represent state troopers, suburban police and fire departments, railroad police and junior college police from Will, Kendall, Grundy, La Salle and Kankakee Counties, as well as portions of Kane, Du Page and Cook.

The two-story, 22,000-square-foot Joliet laboratory was built in 1964 and renovated in 1987. It is a full-service lab, providing expertise in everything from drug chemistry to microscopy and polygraphs.

Connected by a maze of hallways, the individual lab areas are spacious, brightly lit rooms filled with specialized equipment and white-coated scientists. Overhead, a loud paging system frequently blares out assorted messages, but the forensic staff members, engrossed in their projects, hardly seem to notice the noise.

"The forensic scientists working here have an average experience level of 12 years," Welch said, "and are required to remain current and state-of-the-art within their specialty."

Attorney Richard D. Russo, a former prosecutor with the Cook County state's attorney office and now in private practice in Glen Ellyn, emphasized the need for the lab to be state of the art.

"It is the defense attorney's job to talk to the prosecution about the scientific tests that have been done pertaining to the case," said Russo, who handles criminal cases such as DUI and possession of controlled substances. "It is important to know if the state lab is using the most current, up-to-date methods or determine if an outside lab should be brought in. If you question the state lab methods or results, then results from another lab should be obtained. However, my experience with the Joliet lab has been very good."

The Joliet laboratory is one of seven Illinois State Police forensic science laboratories sprinkled throughout the state, from Rockford to Carbondale. In 1982, the Joliet laboratory distinguished itself by becoming the first crime lab in the nation to receive national accreditation through the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD). The other six Illinois labs have subsequently received accreditation.

Such accreditation means the lab has met criteria set up by the ASCLD Accreditation Board in areas of management, operations, personnel, established and written procedures, instrumentation, physical plant and security and personal safety procedures.

Bob Conley, ASCLD president and commander of the Indiana State Police Lab Division, said that there are only about 87 accredited crime labs in the country.

"This number will be rising in 1993 to over 100" as labs become sophisticated to meet the stringent criteria, he said.

The genesis of an Illinois crime lab dates back to the 1920s, when a public outcry demanded better police action against gang warfare and organized crime sweeping the state. This led to the creation of the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, affiliated with Northwestern University's school of law. Before this, only fingerprinting connected science and the investigation of criminal activity.

In the '30s, the Illinois Department of Public Safety initiated plans for a mobile crime laboratory to serve the state under the Illinois State Police Authority.

On Sept. 12, 1942, then-Illinois Gov. Dwight Green christened the laboratory in Chicago, calling it a milestone in the science of criminal detection. The laboratory system that exists today evolved from that mobile unit.